St John's Anglican Church, Trentham

Story

St John's Anglican Church in Trentham, Upper Hutt is one of the oldest surviving Anglican churches in the Wellington region of New Zealand.Early yearsThe area presently known as Trentham was originally a farm belonging to Richard Barton, who had come to New Zealand from his former position as Superintendent to the Duke of Sutherland's estates in Staffordshire, England, then known as Trentham Hall. In the 1840s the Bartons settled in Upper Hutt, and their house and estate were named Trentham.The Barton's donated the funds for the land on which St John's church now stands and gave significant support to the construction, including that of a vicarage in 1894.The actual construction of the Church itself was overseen by Rev Frederic Thatcher, who was a noted church architect of the time. The first Vicar was Rev John E. Herring, who visited on December 27, 1861 and performed his first baptism as Vicar on March 30, 1862. Rev Herring's tenure was quite short, and he was succeeded by Rev Amos Knell on September 27, 1863.Richard Barton was interred in the grounds of St John's Church, and there are also memorials to him in the form of brass plaques within the Church building.ConsecrationThe construction of St John's was started in 1861 and finished in 1863, with it being consecrated two years later in 1865.